What really makes the perfect housemate?

New research by Betta Living has sought to uncover what qualities UK property owners are looking for in their ideal housemates. Those considering renting out a room will be able to use these findings to hopefully find their perfect future housemates.

The ideal housemate would have an annual income of £25-35k and be in full time work. Generally, homeowners aren’t bothered about what occupation their housemate has, with 42% of respondents not caring as long as they are able to pay them rent. See below for the full infographic.

Though there are certain careers which are viewed as preferable over others. A quarter of landlords show a preference to sharing a house with someone working in the medical profession (25%), which was followed by 10% of landlords wanting to live with those working within the financial services.

While half of homeowners said the gender of housemates wouldn’t influence their decision, there is a strong preference towards having female tenants. 43% of property owners say that they prefer living with a woman, leaving a very small minority of homeowners (7%) wanting to live with a male roommate.

When it comes to personality traits, over 70% of homeowners would share their home with someone who is tidy and hygienic. 69% of homeowners also want to share a sense of humour with their tenants, which was closely followed by having a thoughtful and considerate roommate (65%).

With homeowners overwhelmingly preferring tidy tenants, it’s no surprise that most also have a minimum expectation of cleanliness. In fact, up to 76% of landlords expect simple chores from tenants, like cleaning their room and replacing the toilet roll when it runs out.

Smoking is still the number one pet hate, with 74% of homeowners reluctant to rent a room out to a smoker and 62% of homeowners not wanting to rent out to excessive drinkers.